Commentary Office Politics
I have worked for many large corporations in my time but never lasted more than six months. I thought it was because the corporate world and me just do not mix. I am a free spirit who likes to do things my own way. I have never been good at following a whole bunch of rules especially if the rules make no sense. My goal was always to do the best job I could and to get things done efficiently to make the client happy. I was very good at this but it never got me very far in the work place. Eventually I would butt heads with management over a silly rule or policy that I did not feel the need to follow, or just get stressed out because I was taking on all of the responsibility but had none of the authority.
For my first few months here I was falling into my same old pattern. I began doing tasks over and above my job description in an effort to get everything done. Before long I was getting overwhelmed and feeling resentful. I would see my coworkers having lots of time to stand around smoking, drinking coffee and socializing while I was scrambling to get all my duties done. If something did not get done I would get lectured for not fulfilling my responsibilities. Other people rarely ever offered to help.Finally the stress forced my body to shut down. I went home on sick leave for two months. When I returned I vowed that I would change the way I functioned at work.
The first thing I changed was my mind. My goal was no longer to be a super-reliable over-achiever. My goal was to be happy, healthy and make friends. I decided that I would make sure my job was getting done and let other people take responsibility for getting their jobs done. This was a challenge at first, when I got back I was thrust into a new position. I took over for a girl who was being transferred to another site. This girl was very much like me; she had taken on many responsibilities that were not in her job description. People naturally assumed that I would do the same.
My new challenge was to find a way to set the record straight without making myself look bad. My first strategy was to let things pile up on my desk. I had never done this before. I used to process everything before the end of the day so I could arrive at work with a clean desk. Sometimes this required working at warp speeds and not taking breaks. Not anymore. I started working at a moderate pace taking more breaks and taking more time to socialize.When someone tried to hand me their work I just pointed to the growing pile of papers on my desk and said, "I would love to help you but I have to get through this pile on my desk first".
When past supervisors would let their duties slide the old Teresa would step up to the plate and save the day. I am not sure why I had the desire to make an incompetent supervisor look goodbut I did. The new Teresa just sat back and watched them strike out. I not longer had any desire to take on the responsibilities of my higher ups. After all, when their job was not getting done it was their butt on the line not mine. I figured that if I just left them to their own devices they would either offload their responsibilities to someone more competent, figure out how to do the job themselves or fail miserably and get fired. I was okay with any of these outcomes.
Since I have changed my corporate ways I find that I am much happier and not so over burdened. The final move in my "corporate makeover" was to rearrange my desk. I moved my desk to the back of the room with my computer screen facing the wall. People cannot see my screen so they just assume I am doing something work related. This gives me more time to surf the net. I always keep a work related file open just in case someone gets close enough to see my screen to see what I am really doing.My boss just walked in. He saw that I was busy working and decided not to disturb me. I think I am on to something!
